Tag: Rhamel Brown

Season At A Glance — Manhattan

This is the ninth (and final) of the capsules for each of the NYC teams when I’m sure their season has concluded.

Team: Manhattan

Record: 21-13 (12-6 in the MAAC)

Season High: Winning at Iona on Emmy Andujar’s last-second shot

Season Low: Losing in overtime to Siena in the quarterfinals of the MAAC Tournament

Really Good At: Defense – This team became a lock-down defensive team. With Rhamel Brown and Roberto Colonette patrolling the middle, the press forcing turnovers and making opponents think, and a general ability to lock down on shooters the Jaspers became a defensive force.

Struggled With: Turnovers – The Jaspers just turned the ball over way to much during their first season in Steve Masiello’s offensive approach. They finished with a turnover rate of 22.9%, eighth in the MAAC during conference play. If you eliminate those turnover possession Manhattan probably had the best offense in the league. It’s something to work on for next season.

Key Losses:

  • Roberto Colonette (6.3 PPG, 5.2 RPG)
  • Kidani Brutus (8.3 PPG, 2.4 APG)
  • Liam McCabe-Moran (5.3 PPG, 36.5% 3PT%)

Key Returnees:

  • George Beamon, Jr., G (All-MAAC First Team, 19.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.5 SPG)
  • Rhamel Brown, So., F (MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, 7.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.5 BPG)
  • Michael Alvarado, So., G (8.5 PPG, 3.2 APG, 1.4 SPG)
  • Emmy Andujar, Fr., G/F (8.4 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 3.2 APG)

Key Quotes:

“Great season. Biggest turnaround in college basketball. I couldn’t be more proud of these guys,” Steve Masiello

Outlook: Positive. The three seniors that are leaving the Manhattan program do represent some quality players, but the Jaspers seem to be well positioned for next season. Beamon will be a star in the MAAC during his senior season (possibly the best player in the conference) and Brown, Alvarado and Adujar are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of talent in Riverdale. There is a strong recruiting class coming in with players that seem to fit Steve Masiello’s system. That’s one of the keys too. The players now have had a season to learn the trapping defensive system Masiello brought with him from Louisville. They should be able to work on it this offseason. Now that they’ve tasted success players like Beamon are just going to be that much hungrier. It should make for a focused, talented Manhattan team come 2012-13, one that has the potential to win the MAAC.

The Full Series of Season At A Glance Posts:

It wasn’t easy, but Iona takes the MAAC

Last night Iona had to work to get over the final hump, but with one game remaining the Gaels now have a two-game lead over a the three-way tie for second place. Honestly, that’s how it should be. Fairfield, Loyola (MD) and Manhattan are good basketball teams, but Iona is the class of the league this season. They’ve finally proved it too. The win over the Stags was the fifth straight for the Gaels.

Still, I think Iona would rather not see the Greyhounds in Springfield, MA next week. It’s all about the match ups. From the beginning of the season the Gaels have struggled with teams that rebound well (see every loss this season). Loyola rebounds really well. Iona would certainly benefit if the Greyhounds were knocked off before a rematch. Of course it’s quite possible that Loyola could be facing Iona in the semifinals. The Manhattan-Loyola game on Sunday looms huge over the MAAC standings.

Lost in the hype over Iona defeating Fairfield last night was the fact that another record fell at Manhattan, and the Jaspers now have 20 wins. Rhamel Brown set the single-season record for blocks in a season at Manhattan, breaking Arturo Dubois’ 2005-06 mark of 74 with his second block of the game. Brown finished with three in 19 minutes after getting the start. He has the highest block rate in the country. Yes, it’s higher than Jeff Withey, Anthony Davis or Fab Melo. In fact, Brown’s block rate is higher than all but seven teams in the entire NCAA.

Sunday should be a lot of fun.

8 Fateful Minutes

With 7:58 remaining Iona held a convincing 65-48 lead over Manhattan. The Gaels were rolling, but it was all about to unravel. From then on the Jaspers outscored the Gaels 27-7 and delivered the final knockout on Emmy Andujar’s banked in last-second three over Scott Machado. The 75-72 loss dealt a serious blow to Iona’s at-large hopes and made the MAAC title race a little more interesting.

“I think our guys took it way too complacent and they thought the game was over again and it’s a struggle with this team keeping their concentration and their motivation,” said Iona head coach Tim Cluess. “We’re really struggling with it and I have to do a better job of finding a way to motivate them better than I have been because this is happening way too often.”

During the final eight minutes every Manhattan player on the floor scored. Rhamel Brown, once the third-string center for the Jaspers, led the way with nine points, two boards, two blocks and a rebound during the final minutes. Brown’s two blocks on Mike Glover after the Jaspers cut the lead to seven helped Manhattan hold onto the momentum and seal the game.

“At that point in the game it was do or die,” Brown said. “We just played our hardest. We wanted it more than Iona. They’re a great team. They’re really competitive. They never gave up, but in the end the team that wanted it more got the win.”

Brown finished with 17 points, 11 boards and three blocks in 30 minutes.

“He’s a guy that dominates the game without having to score,” said Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello. “I’m so proud of him. He’s a joy to coach.”

Besides his game-winner, Andujar showed his versatility for the Jaspers as well. The freshman forward is often the best player on the floor for Manhattan. As Iona jumped out to a 39-22 first half lead that certainly wasn’t the case. Andujar played only seven minutes in the first half as he struggled with foul trouble. While the stat sheet said he had just one turnover, he also had some defensive miscues and didn’t grab a single board during the first 20 minutes. He grabbed four during the final eight minutes of the game. In another big rivalry game the young freshman was once again able to settle  into a rhythm. Overall he finished with 17 points, six boards and three assists in 25 minutes.

“I got in foul trouble, but I have teammates that help me be confident,” Andujar said. “I knew I was going to get it in the second half and I just kept my head in the game. Even though we were down a lot, with our style of play that we play I know we’re going to comeback and make our run.”

The Iona offense, which had looked unstoppable was stilted in the closing moments. Machado was brilliant for most of the game with 16 assists and just one turnover, but his 3-10 shooting prevented him from taking over the game. The senior point guard missed four shots down the stretch. Part of that seemed to be related to fatigue. While Manhattan forced just 11 Iona turnovers, during most of the second half the Jaspers forced Machado to work hard to cross the timeline with double teams and pressure. As a team the Gaels missed 11 shots down the stretch.

“This isn’t a wake up, this is a disgrace,” Cluess said.

Mike Glover scored his 1,000th point during the game in just his 54th contest with the Gaels, but it came in a bittersweet moment. Glover scored 18 points and grabbed eight boards. He missed just two free throws, but they were two key ones down the stretch. He also was contained by Brown in the final moments.

The loss will force people to concentrate on some of Iona’s flaws instead of its obvious strengths. The Gaels shot just nine free throws in the game and allowed Manhattan to grab 13 offensive rebounds. But what must be more frustrating for Cluess is that his team literally gave the game away. Those eight minutes will stay burned in the record for the rest of the season. They’ll haunt this team moving forward and continue to impact the MAAC until the end of the season.

New York Mid-Major Non-Conference Teams

Nobody is in action today as we get ready for conference play, so it’s time to look back once more and name the All-New York Mid-Major Non-Conference teams. There are a lot of talented players to pick from in the New York City area. If I left your favorite player off one of the teams below let me know in the comments. I don’t like expanding beyond two teams, even though it’s possible, because at some point you just start including everyone and I wanted to avoid that situation.

Continue reading “New York Mid-Major Non-Conference Teams” →